In November 1999, we departed Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga, for Whangarei, New Zealand. The passage took six exhilarating days. Even though we had lumpy seas and 25-40 knots of wind most of the way, we were very happy to get across this notoriously dangerous bit of ocean without incident.
When we made landfall in New Zealand, we had no idea what to expect there. We ended by spending 18 months and thinking of the country as our second home.
Music is by the New Zealand Maori band Oceania, from the 1999 CD “Oceania.”